Gloria Doyle, a singer turned evangelist, tells ADEOLA BALOGUN and 'NONYE BEN-NWANKWO about the changes in her life and her relationships.

My kind of music

I am a singer, but I am more of an evangelist. As a matter of fact, I run a church. Right now, I run a Christian ministry. That is why you have not been seeing me. I was arrested by the Holy Spirit. People expect to see a Gloria Doyle without a make-up, hairdo or jewellery. It is not like that. If you really have a close relationship with God, you don't care much about your looks. The thing that matters is what you are carrying inside you. I won't lie to you; as we speak, a lot of marketers are on my neck and I am working with a producer. We are working on an album titled 'Praises'. In it, I try to cheer up those who are feeling low. I am telling them that whatever they are facing now is temporary.

How I got into music

I was a singer for a long time. I had a music band and Sammie Okposo played the keyboard. I didn't release an album at the time. But I decided to act quietly and start my own records label.

Why I look different now

I guess it is because I am more mature now. All the time I was dressing explicitly, I would say I was not mature. I am coming up with a book where I talked about this thing. I talked about trying to be like the world in order to belong. Jesus Christ said, 'You are in the world, but you are not of the world.' If you are in the world and you are not of the world, there must be a difference. But, if you are in the world and you want to show people that you are in the world, definitely, you have to act like the world. That was what I was doing back then, dressing explicitly and trying to show off what did not exist. God has taken those things out of my life.

My regrets

Sometimes, I wish I didn't live the way I did before. But, most of the time, while studying the Bible, I realised that God must always pick me up from a point.

Muma Gee and I

Quite frankly, we didn't have any issue. It is a very simple thing: you are stranded, somebody takes you in and then you feel that you have arrived and that person no longer belongs to your class. That was just the problem we had. Muma Gee was sleeping in her car in the premises of LTV Channel 8 when I met her. She was keeping her belongings in her car when I invited her to come and live with me. Then, she was trying to settle down in Lagos and in my own little way, I was able to give her my contacts. And by the time she got her break, she was like saying, Gloria, you are not in my class. Naturally, if you were in my shoes, you would feel bad that somebody who used to share the same bed with you, who sometimes would be broke and share the little you had with you, would treat you in that way. Honestly, I have forgiven her and I wish her the best in life.

My acting career

I did a bit of acting. I was with Korede Films and I participated in four Yoruba films there. But there are many things you have to experience that I didn't want to accept. If you want to be a superstar, you need to pay a price. If anybody has arrived and the person says he didn't experience that, he is lying. When I got into the movie industry, people came to me and said they would give me a role in a movie if I would sleep with them.

That was not my style. Although I didn't attend theatre school, I know the ethics of acting. Everything is just about business, making money and putting aside professionalism. What we see now is mere dialogue, no action. And if you make a suggestion, they shout you down. I have scripts and I am working with a production outfit in America owned by a Nigerian model, Lafunke. We are really taking our time. We intend to shoot here and in America.

Why I ignore passes from men

When God has made you beautiful, there is nothing anybody can do about it. Men will make passes at you, but it is up to you to handle them.

Recently, I was watching a couple of films and I saw one of two things being acted out. There were scenes of lesbianism and other terrible stuff. Look, I have kids and I would not want my daughter to catch me in such a situation, even if it is acting. I am trying to inculcate serious morals in my scripts. My daughter is grown up and in the university, sometimes when I dressed wildly, she would say, 'Mummy, I don't like what you are wearing' and you would see the disgust in her face.

My children

I am married with three children: two boys and a girl. My first son is 20 years old and my only daughter is 17. They are all in America. My first and second sons are studying to be a surgeon and banker, respectively. My daughter is studying petrochemical engineering. They are all doing well. Their father lives in America, too. He has a second wife. I raised my children single-handedly. They left with their father four years ago after living with me for more than 14 years.

My marriage

I got married when I was pretty young. I was 17 years old at the time. By the time I turned 21, I was through with child bearing. Initially, I suffered discrimination as a married woman because my husband and I were not from the same state. I am from Delta, while he is from Imo and his people expected me to do certain things I didn't want to do; such things like tying double wrappers and all that stuff. It just did not work out. I once had a fellowship of single women where I used to encourage them to live a normal life, irrespective of their status. Members of my parish, even my spiritual fathers, have been asking me to get married, but I have a phobia for marriage. My husband and I have been separated for 17 years. I would say that we are temporarily separated because of some issues. I really don't want to talk about them. You will see them in the movie.
If you have been married before and you really didn't enjoy it, you won't want to get into it again. I have this phobia for marriage. I suffered ethnic discrimination in my first marriage. It was the first thing that rocked my marriage. When the man is the breadwinner in his family, there is always a problem. I still talk to my husband on the phone, though.

About Mike Okri

You know it has been long since he was last in Nigeria. I try to help him connect with the right people to do business with. I was his personal assistant before he travelled abroad. I learnt so much from him.

About Wale Adeoba

He was my personal assistant. He had some issues and I told him to move into my house and he wanted to become more than a PA. It brought some problems. And because he had some friends in the media, he felt he was going to blackmail me. It was terrible then.

Why I invited a man to live in my house

I live in a big apartment and I have more adults living with me. If I see you and you are stranded and I have space in my house, I take you in. That is why I am a Christian. It is just me. Kween Onakala stayed with me, but you will not believe it. Pictures don't lie. I brought her from Abuja. I gave her the Afro identity. I thought her how to make up and I wrote 'Oluronbi' and brought Pasuma to collaborate with her on the song. The song gave her a break. Afterwards, she said, just like Muma Gee did, that I was not in her league. I am used to that. It won't stop me from doing good.

I brought out Segun Blessing. Do we talk of Tony Tetuila? I have pictures.

What I hope to achieve

The talent is not lost. I am taking my time. I took a break to settle my kids. They are now settled. The ministry is settled and so I am coming back.